Air 3.0.4 Officially Released

[Hifi_swlon]

I want to re-purpose a D200 as just a Air streamer, and essentially take the digital coax out to my DAC. Would this be possible?

Quite an expensive one - and a lot of redundant kit there....

What's made you go for that option?

[Dr Tone]

I was thinking about my noisey router being connected right to my Devialet lately. Started a plan to move it away by converting a telephone Cat 5 line to my data patch panel and move the Router over by my servers and put a simple and hopefully quieter switch by the 220.

Then it dawned on me that I have listened to USB since getting upgraded. My USB system is rather optimized, SOTM USB 3.0 card with Battery power.

To cut to the chase, I couldn't really tell a difference except for maybe USB being a little more relaxed in presentation and top end. So back to running USB for a while, I'll try Air again when I reorganize my network.

[Confused]

I was thinking about my noisey router being connected right to my Devialet lately.  Started a plan to move it away by converting a telephone Cat 5 line to my data patch panel and move the Router over by my servers and put a simple and hopefully quieter switch by the 220.

Then it dawned on me that I have listened to USB since getting upgraded.  My USB system is rather optimized, SOTM USB 3.0 card with Battery power.

To cut to the chase, I couldn't really tell a difference except for maybe USB being a little more relaxed in presentation and top end.  So back to running USB for a while, I'll try Air again when I reorganize my network.

Interesting.  So do you have any thoughts or observations regarding the supposition that the USB implementation in the Pro is a little better versus the 'old' Expert?

[Dr Tone]

I was thinking about my noisey router being connected right to my Devialet lately.  Started a plan to move it away by converting a telephone Cat 5 line to my data patch panel and move the Router over by my servers and put a simple and hopefully quieter switch by the 220.

Then it dawned on me that I have listened to USB since getting upgraded.  My USB system is rather optimized, SOTM USB 3.0 card with Battery power.

To cut to the chase, I couldn't really tell a difference except for maybe USB being a little more relaxed in presentation and top end.  So back to running USB for a while, I'll try Air again when I reorganize my network.

Interesting.  So do you have any thoughts or observations regarding the supposition that the USB implementation in the Pro is a little better versus the 'old' Expert?

I can't make that declaration, everything could be in my head because hifi_swlon thought Air might be slightly harsher.     I'm also pumping everything through HQPlayer now.

I never really went back and forth 5-6 times before, like I did today.

[Hifi_swlon]

I can't make that declaration, everything could be in my head because hifi_swlon thought Air might be slightly harsher.     I'm also pumping everything through HQPlayer now.

I'm not even sure I really know any more. I thought that at the time, but there really wasn't much in it.

I've been very happy past couple of days. Liking what I hear. Bass is still better IMO. Soundstage still better. Treble, slightly harsher? Possibly. I'm just not sure. All I know is I'm enjoying listening.....

Out of curiosity I checked my emails earlier. I bought the 200 around April 2015. So two years to the week almost that AIR was broken for me. I can still hardly believe it. Two years!!! WTF!! What were they doing? They designed the Pros in under six months. It's a tiny effing piece of code to take an audio stream from A to B, B being their own proprietary hardware.

Anyway, as you can see, I'm in recovery. But it's a slow healing process.

Planning ahead I guess the DSD part should be fixed around 2019 based on that performance. Which will probably break something else. Two years for that say, should be in the clear by 2021. Just in time for a working version of Devialet OS on my year old streamerboard.

[Rama]

I want to re-purpose a D200 as just a Air streamer, and essentially take the digital coax out to my DAC. Would this be possible?

Quite an expensive one - and a lot of redundant kit there....

What's made you go for that option?

I upgraded to a D440 Pro (two D220 pro's). Dont really want to sell this unit as its only about 8 months old. Its been sitting around collecting dust. I have Tidal, Qobuz subscription and Roon (for 2 months) so i thought how can I fit the D200 into the equation. Just happy for now that its not going to be a relic. 

Might I add here also to the USB discussion that Confused brought up. I can most certainly hear a difference between the D200 USB input and the D220 Pro input, the latter being superior. This is not a subtle difference, with a good USB cable you can clearly hear it. Which leads me to believe that Devialet have elevated the USB input in the Pro series to the preferred choice of input.

[Dr Tone]

Might I add here also to the USB discussion that Confused brought up. I can most certainly hear a difference between the D200 USB input and the D220 Pro input, the latter being superior. This is not a subtle difference, with a good USB cable you can clearly hear it. Which leads me to believe that Devialet have elevated the USB input in the Pro series to the preferred choice of input.

There is no indication that the Pro changes touched the USB part of the amp.  All changes were at the back end.

[octaviars]

Might I add here also to the USB discussion that Confused brought up. I can most certainly hear a difference between the D200 USB input and the D220 Pro input, the latter being superior. This is not a subtle difference, with a good USB cable you can clearly hear it. Which leads me to believe that Devialet have elevated the USB input in the Pro series to the preferred choice of input.

There is no indication that the Pro changes touched the USB part of the amp.  All changes were at the back end.

This was also what I have thougt and is it not so that Devialet reused the card that holds USB, ethernet, toslink and the SD card in the Pro models as I suppose it is this card that will be replaced with the new streamerboard.

If you look at this movie showing how to take out the card you will se all of the connectors being on one card.

The movie shows a 120 but I assume all amps have the same card and as they did not change anything on the backside going to Pro I dont think they did any changes to the card.

But I recall that I got a new MAC adress on my 440 Pro ethernet connection so perhaps it is a new card?

https://help.devialet.com/hc/en-us/artic...ialet-120-

[Confused]

I think Dr Tone is correct, based on the specifications there is no difference between the Pro and Expert USB boards.  The difference I noted, and I have to be clear that this is my subjective opinion, is that comparing the microRendu via USB versus the microRendu into Mutec via AES/EBU, there was a definite improvement in bass accuracy (accuracy, not quantity) via the microRendu/Mutec with AES/EBU.  Beyond this specific point of bass accuracy I cannot say I have noticed any other differences between the Pro and Expert USB, they might be there, but I cannot say I have observed anything.  In the Pro I think the difference with bass accuracy is significantly smaller, with the Pro USB seemingly improved in this respect.  My supposition is that this is maybe related to leakage loops / isolation.  So given the USB board is the same, maybe in the Pro somehow the galvanic isolation is a little improved?  This is of course a tricky thing to observe.  The USB input of the Pro will sound better than the USB input of the Expert because the amp sounds better, you cannot separate the two.  So it becomes a subjective observation of one specific source via USB versus another via AIR, AES/EBU or S/PDIF.  Plus, as most of us have never had their Experts and Pro's at the same time, it does rely on memory of the differences.  (although I do note that Rama has a 'spare' D200 gathering dust if he ever fancied a weekend of A/B testing ) Another subjective observation I have with the old Expert is that the very best thing I heard through an Expert USB with respect to bass accuracy was the CAD CAT music server.  When I listened to the CAD CAT it was demoed with an early version of CAD's 'ground control' device, but this was connected to the CAD CAT, not the Devialet, so I remain puzzled why the CAD CAT was better than an mR, Melco or whatever in this regard.  Maybe some other factor completely, indeed, there are a lot of factors working together so these things are difficult to pin down.  It would be nice to have some input from Devialet in this regard, but not much chance of that unless they let Mathieu Pernod out to play at a dealer event some time.

Getting this back on topic, I have to say my observations do concur with Hifi_swlon's, in that even with the Pro USB, the bass accuracy via AIR is a touch better than with a micrRendu via USB.  Or to put this another way, in this regard AIR is a lot closer to the performance of a Mutec via AES/EBU than a microRendu via USB.  (Normal caveats, my system, my ears etc.)

[octaviars]

I find it hard to understand how you can compare USB in the old Expert to USB in the new Expert Pro as you listen to the whole amplifier chain not just the USB input. 

Of you compare for say a 200 to a 220 with USB input and the 220 sounds better is it the USB input or the amplifier that is better.....I would say it is the changes in the amplifier that makes it better and not so much the input.